Team member is at the top of their salary

So I have 3 people on my team who are at the top of their salary band. One of them came to me of how it’s tough for him that for a few year he hasnt gotten any raises because he’s at the top of the salary band. His wife is even telling him to look else where. He’s been furthering his knowledge a lot and he’s a HUGE asset to the team. I’m his manager and I went to the director. His boss said sorry he’s salary capped, can’t do anything for him. And their mentality is we can just replace him with someone cheaper which is an awful way to think. Do you guys have any suggestions ? What have you done with salary capped employees? This guy is such a brilliant and hard worker.

Update 1/20/2025:

well, this blew up! I typed a whole update a few days ago and my laptop blue screened, so I'm now doing another update. Thank you all for your comments, I wish i could reply to all of you.

Salary Band: I spoke with HR on Friday, they told me they updated the salary bands last in 2023 and they claimed they increased it by then. They also mentioned that there will be new information on salary bands this spring. I started in 2022 and i don't recall being informed of a salary band increase in 2023.

IC (Individual Contributor): to be honest this is the first time i've heard about IC. I asked HR along with my salary band question and they ignored it. I'm going to speak with my boss about that, if we even have something like that.

Bonuses: Employees will receive a percentage of their salary as a bonus instead of salary increase. it might be 3% or something along those lines.

WFH: We are a hybrid model. I don't ask for my team to come in unless there is a required in-person meeting which is very rare.

Extra time off: this employee currently has over 200 vacation h ours and over 200 sick hours. and he just took 2 weeks off for holidays. He's not a big vacationer.

If he asks for a letter of recommendation, I will write him solid one. I want what is best for him and anyone on my team. I will continue to see what i can do for him with my boss.